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12/07/2003 Archived Entry: "Japanese Baseball News: Mets Snatch Matsui from Dodgers with $23 Million Deal; Cox, Yokohama May Battle in Court"
But is Matsui Suited for Shea?
According to Japanese press reports, Seibu Lions shortstop Kazuo Matsui will be playing for the New York Mets next season after that club topped a $21 million offer from the Dodgers with a three year $23 million deal. In addition, L.A. has apparently decided to forego any further bidding for Matsui in hopes that it can land Boston Red Sox superstar Nomar Garciaparra.
A Sports Nippon report a couple of days ago indicated that Matsui was just about ready to declare for the Dodgers when the Mets put themselves into the driver's seat with a richer contract than L.A. was willing to give him. Thus may be born the best young keystone combination in the National League and perhaps all of baseball, as he will pair with Jose Reyes, who will be moved from short to second. Matsui will wear his usual number 7.
However, it will be interesting to see how the PL Gakuen High School grad deals with the pressure from New York fans and media. He is traditionally a slow starter who gets better as the weather warms up, though, ironically, he got off pretty well out of the blocks in 2003 and ended up with what he considered dissapointing numbers, finally getting himself over the .300 hump late in the schedule.
Moreover, Shea Stadium is one of the worst hitter's parks in baseball and one can foresee a substantial drop in Matsui's power production. Consequently, it will be incumbent on him to adopt the strategy employed by the New York Yankees Hideki Matsui, going with the pitch and emphasizing contact over going yard. Then once he gets on base, Matsui should steal and steal some more. He has the speed and instincts to thieve 70-100 bags a year and should focus on making a name for himself that way during his stay at Shea.
It is a little puzzling as to what Matsui chose the Mets, though., The team is a mess and will not be a contender without some substantial retooling. Mike Piazza wants to be traded, Cliff Floyd has yet to make a substantial impact, they're stuck with the blob like Mo Vaughan at first and their bullpen is suspect. In the meantime, L.A. is moving in a positive direction with one of the most solid managers in the game running things and only needs to goose its offense a little more to be a post season threat. Too, the ball flies out of Dodger Stadium during day games. So this sojourn to New York could backfire on the switch hitting speedster.
Lee Holds Off on Lotte Offer
According to Japanese press reports, Samsung Lions free agent slugger Lee Seung-yeop is favorably disposed to joining the Chiba Lotte Marines in 2004, but he still hasn't made a formal announcement that he will sign with them. Lotte put a two year, 600 million yen (about $5.5 million) deal before Lee, which was substantially better than the offers he got from Seattle and L.A. That amount includes a projected signing bonus and incentives as well as his salary. Another negotiating session will be held on the tenth in Tokyo.
Now the question is where Lee will play. Kazuya Fukuura, who lead all of Japanese baseball in doubles last season and who is a perennial .300 hitter, is the incumbent first sacker. Therefore, defense may be the key as to who ends up at DH and who becomes the starter at first. MLB scouts say Lee, a Gold Glove winner in Korea, is average by their standards in the field.
Note, though, that the last successful Korean position player in Japan was Paik In-chung, known as Jinten Haku in Japan, who retired more than 20 years ago. Lee Jong-beom, who was hailed as Korea's Ichiro, was a disappointment with Chunichi and is back in the KBO. Moreover, Lee Seung-yeop wasn't very impressive during the Sydney Olympics in 2000. So the jury is still out for now.
Cox Headed to Court Over Yokohama Contract?
According to Japanese press reports, there is a lot of wrangling right now over the final two years of Steve Coix' contract with the Yokohama Bay Stars. The Stars released the former Devil Ray after a knee affliction limited him to just 15 games this past season. Now the club wants to buy Cox out on the cheap, but agent Arn Tellem and his lawyers have found the Yokohama offer inadequate and are considering retaining Japanese legal help. Yokohama reportedly owes Cox for the entire second year of that deal and a buyout for the third year option for a total that exceeds $3.5 million.
It should be noted that going to civil court in Japan is not a profitable pursuit like it is in the USA. Japanese judges tend to delay and delay in the typically Japanese hope that the two sides will reconcile and come to a harmonious agreement. It is not uncommon for 20 years to pass before a case gets all the way through the legal system there and, even then, the amounts awarded tend to be pretty low by American standards. Japan has no jury system, so everything is decided by judges. So we'll have to see how this eventually plays out.
Team Reports
Hanshin Manager Akinobu Okada urged leftfielder Tomoaki Kanemoto to swing for the fences more next season. Noting that the bigger size of Koshien Stadium as well as the sea breezes that hold long drives up, Kanemoto concentrated more on his average with runners in scoring position numbers, accumulating just 19 dingers in his debut campaign with the Tigers....Hanshin sent veteran sidearmer Tetsuro Kawajiri to Kintetsu in exchange for the useless Katsuhiko Maekawa. Maekawa has done fairly well against Seibu but barely anyone else during his career, sporting an ERA of 5.21. Kawajiri, who had wanted to play in MLB but was rebuffed, was only in two games this past year and thus became expendable. The Buffs win big in this exchange.
Chunichi Manager Hiromitsu Ochiai spent his Sunday watching a youth baseball tourney in Wakayama Prefecture and remarked to reporters that he wants to the 70 player roster limit abolished. Apparently, there were other players he wanted to draft, but didn't have enough roster space to do so....Catcher Motonobu Tanishige will wear number 27 in 2004. He wore a 7 for the Dragons previously....Chunichi is said to be looking at the acquistion of Taiwanese pitcher Yan Chen-fu. The Sinon Bulls righthander fastball reportedly maxes out in the 90mph range and he has a sharp slider. He threw four innings of one run, two hit ball against Korea in the recent Asian olympic qualifier, though he also walked four.
Yomiuri Batting instructor Kenji Awaguchi said that Tuffy Rhodes, despite the $4-5 million a year offer the Giants have made to him, may only be used as a pinch hitter. Rhodes has had problem knees, but that hasn't kept him from playing in most of his team's games during the past seven years, so what Awaguchi is on about is a head scratcher. Certainly, it would stretch the bounds of credibility that the kyojin would leave that kind of salary languishing on the bench should they sign the Japan homer record tying slugger....Righthander Hiroshi Kisanuki lectured a large group of senior league youngsters Sunday at a Kawasaki area hotel. He urged them to set high goals, don't complain if they think a practice is waste of time and to revere their parents....The team signed its seventh round draft choice, Sato, for an approximately $45,000 salary and a bonus of about $400,000.
Yakult Manager Tsutomu Wakamatsu has given free agent closer Shingo Takatsu a January 16th deadline in deciding whether he will remain with the Swallows or go to MLB. According to Sankei Sports, despite an earlier report of a $700,000 offer from San Diego, Takatsu has yet to receive a "concrete" proposal from any MLB outfit.For his part, Takatsu spent the day at infielder Hajime Miki's 250 guest strong wedding reception.... Swallows bigwigs indicated that they will be willing to accomodate lefthanded reliever Hirotoshi Ishii's wish to pitch in MLB, but it won't be after this coming season. Rather, they say that if he performs well over the next couple of years, they will post him....Players Association head Atsuys Furuta said that he stands firmly behind Giants ace Koji Uehara in his battle over the use of player agents with Yomiuri. As far as Furuta is concerned, the deal that Uehara recently signed with the Giants was with the utilization of an agent and not an adviser, as Yomiuri claimed.
Hiroshima Closer Katsuhiro Nagakawa said that he might do his offseason training in Hawaii due to the warm weather there. He recently was bestowed with a more than $150,000 pay raise to around $300,000.
Daiei Pitching coach Takao Obana has announced that ace Kazumi Saito will be the Opening Day starter. Like that was so difficult to decide....Shortstop Yusuke Torigoe has married model Mamiko Suzuki, a Hamamatsu Shizuoka Prefecture native whose father works for a cookie manufacturer. The pair met in 1998 through mutual friends....Manager Sadaharu Oh has a cold and thus missed a golf event that was held in his honor.
Kintetsu Number two draftee Toshinori Yoshira, a high school slugger, signed for a $55,000 salary and a $550,000 bonus. The bonus, Yoshira said, will be used to pay off a loan on his father Eisaku's fishing boat. The elder Yoshira makes his living in the fishing trade.
Lotte Despite him having a horrible campaign this past season, Manager Bobby Valentine is hoping to obtain Orix reliever Masato Yoshii. Yoshii, 38, is coming off of season ending ankle surgery and was mulling retirement before deciding to stay on with the Kobe side for at least one more year and could end up in Chiba for an outfielder or cash....Former Atlanta Braves hurler Tom House will be part of Valentine's spring training staff as a physical fitness consultant.
Nippon Ham The team has inked number two choice Hideki Sunaga to a contract. Sunaga had originally wanted to pitch for Yomiuri, but will now give that dream up....Club officials met with third baseman Michihiro Ogasawara to begin his contract negotiations. No numbers were disclosed, but he is due for another raise thanks to his second consecutive batting title....Manager Trey Hillman is going to bring in former Cleveland pitching coach Mike Brown as a consultant to his pitching coaches. Brown has also worked in the Yankees organization and helped develop the likes of Andy Pettite and Mariano Rivera.
Orix Pitcher Seiya Shibata, who had hoped to end up with Nippon Ham, has agreed to go with the Blue Wave. He said he wants to face Kintetsu slugger Norihiro Nakamura and strike him out.
Miscellaneous Former Chunichi Dragons closer Akinori Otsuka has left for the U.S. to sign his deal with San Diego. According to Hochi Sports, Otsuka will be given a two year contract with an option for a third....Former Yomiuri manager Tatsunori Hara has signed on as a commentator for Hochi Sports. He had a previous stint for the paper six years ago. Hara's head coach, Yoshitaka Katori, will also scribble for Hochi, as will ex-battery coach Shinichi Murata and erstwhile pitching ace Masaaki Saito....The agent question in Japan had a new turn Sunday, as NPB officials shildishly refused to officially recognize U.S. agents hired by Hideki Irabu and other players who return to Japan to play. The Japanese player's association, however, does approve of those agents. But just how big a discussion point this will become is an open question. It would seem to be rather low on the list of issues.
Replies: 7 comments
In my defense, let me say this: before the 2003 season began, who would you guess would have more RBIs, Raul Ibanez or Cliff Floyd? Floyd, right? Wrong! Ibanez, at half the price, won 94-68. Who would you guess would have more homers? They were even at 18 apiece. Yeah, it's true that Floyd's OPS is about 90 points higher and Ibanez had about 250 more at bats, but Floyd's higher OPS doesn't do you any good when it is in the doctor's office one-fourth of the season. By game's played, Floyd's durability has been about average the four seasons going into 2003, but his 68 RBIs thr last time around isn't what you pay more than $6 million for. And with RISP, they were pretty close, though Floyd had somewhat of an edge with two outs in that department.
As for the Mets bullpen, it is indeed true it is unsettled. John Franco, should he be re-signed, would go in as the closer (unless they acquire Urbina) after being 0-3 with two saves. David Weathers was solid and Strickland was good in his 20 innings, but once you get past that, who do you have? Prospects are nice, but only a very limited number of those are going to pan out, if any at all.
As for Piazza, there is still persistent talk about him being traded, with the latest rumors involving Baltimore, though some are speculating that the size of Mike's (who is one of my favorite players, btw) contract will ultimately keep him in New York. But what do you get defensively if you put him at first base? He is reaching his limit as a catcher physically. The November rumor about him wanting to go to the AL and DH seems rational.
But is it true or does he still want to catch everyday?
But even if Floyd comes back and has a monster year in 2004, there isn't anyone in that outfield to complement him as yet. You have Reyes and Matsui in the infield to accompany Piazza, but can Ty Wiggington really step up? Is it credible to believe that Vance Wilson can effectively spell Piazza if Mike plays first?
Look, I'm tired of seeing Atlanta win the NL East every year. I hope that the Mets can revive themselves. But otherwise, as it stands right now, they are the MLB equivalent of a beater car. It will still run, but not enough to keep up with better maintained and designed models. They can improve it a lot with Vlad in the lineup, but will they shy away from the $15 million price tag? A best case scenario right now, though, is that Trot Nixon is more economical and that may be who you end up with. Urbina sure isn't going to come cheap. So good luck.
Dodger Stadium (and as a Dodgers honk I've been to games there) isn't a hitter's park to be sure, but the ball still carries better in the alleys there than it does at Shea. And, again, during day games,
the ball really picks up steam in the 80-90 degree California heat and it gets up to those temperatures earlier in the season than in New York and it stays warmer longer in the year. New York, however, has a big edge in summer humidity.
And here's to hoping Glavine just had an off year.
Posted by Gary Garland @ 12/09/2003 02:27 PM EST
One more thing ... rather than castigating Gary for suggesting the Mets aren't in the best of shape (which is true), you should be thanking him for providing an excellent resource for Japanese baseball news. Or can y'all read Japanese?
Posted by Jeff @ 12/09/2003 09:06 AM EST
According to state-side reports, it was a $20.1M deal -- not the $23M originally thought by the Japanese press -- with a full no-trade clause. It also gives Kazuo the right to be a free agent after 2006.
Posted by Jeff @ 12/09/2003 08:57 AM EST
Even injured, Cliff Floyd made a substantial impact considering he played on a last place team. I agree with Brent - get your facts straight. The Mets will be contenders faster than the Dodgers.
Posted by DeborahS @ 12/08/2003 01:40 PM EST
Shea is a pitcher's park, to be sure, but Dodger stadium is an even better pitcher's park. From a power perspective, Kaz is better off at Shea, though not much!
Posted by Will @ 12/08/2003 10:35 AM EST
The Mets will contend a lot sooner than expected. With players like Danny Garcia, Victor Diaz, David Wright, Justin Huber, Lastings Miledge on the horizon, the Mets future is bright.
Posted by Mike L. @ 12/08/2003 08:07 AM EST
How about learning about the Mets. Piazza has announced he doesn't want to be traded. They have a bunch young fireballers in the Bullpen. Mo Vaughn is unoffically retired while the Mets are getting insurance Payments. They have gotten from under most of their bad contracts. How exactly are they moving in the wrong direction. Especially with only 60mill payroll. They will be contenders a lot quicker than you think
Posted by Brent @ 12/08/2003 01:32 AM EST
